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Find Your Future in the Health and Wellness Industry by Learning How to Work with New Populations

A large untapped group of potential health club members is out there waiting for you and other fitness professionals. You have the opportunity to learn how to work with them and build a profitable business while you are at it.

The United States spends $2.7 trillion annually on healthcare expenditures. Of that amount, 86 percent is spent on people with chronic and mental health conditions, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. By almost anyone’s standards, that number is tragic. By the fitness industry standards, that number is an embarrassment. Why aren’t we as an industry doing more to make a dent in this? Especially when this statistic shows that there is tremendous opportunity for our industry in this 86 percent.

Perhaps it’s because working with people who have chronic conditions can be challenging. It’s much easier to work with athletes or the already fit or those who are just needing to drop a few pounds. It takes more training and education to work with someone who has diabetes, has had joint replacements, suffers from chronic heart disease or is a senior citizen with mobility issues. Besides, where would you get the training to work with these populations?

I know where: the Medical Fitness Tour. And this year, the Club Industry Show has co-located with the Medical Fitness Tour, a two-day event (comprised of 11 educational sessions) on Oct. 25-26 in Salon A5 at the Hilton Chicago. (The Club Industry Show starts one day earlier, running Oct. 24-26 at the Hilton Chicago.) Topics for the Medical Fitness Tour sessions range from active aging, CVD, genomics, joint replacement, cannabis for recovery, and how to grow a business in this space.

Your registration to the Medical Fitness Tour requires a separate fee from the Club Industry Show, but that doesn't mean you can't participate in many of the Club Industry Show events. With your Medical Fitness Tour registration, you get into the Club Industry Show exhibit hall, the welcome reception on Oct. 24, the Networking Nightcap event on Oct. 25 and the two Sisterhood Stride morning runs on Oct. 25 and 26—for no additional cost.

If you are a trainer, sign up for this event to expand the net of clients that you can work with. If you are a general manager or club owner, come to the Club Industry Show for your education while sending some of your trainers to the Medical Fitness Tour.

Why not take this step to make your health club the place these underserved communities go? Why not take this first step into what could become a profitable source of new revenue for you? Don't delay. Find out more about this two-day event by going here.

(Note: The registration for this event is run through Club Industry. Input your registration information first, then click “start new registration.” After that, select “Medical Fitness Tour” under co-located events.)